


Laurent's Puppies

by earthyhannah



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Fluff, Laurent and dogs, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2016-03-11
Packaged: 2018-05-26 01:58:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6219157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earthyhannah/pseuds/earthyhannah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Damen discovers new things about Laurent.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Laurent's Puppies

**Author's Note:**

> umm so this is my first ever captive prince fic! hope you enjoy. laurent is an SOB to write *cries*  
> this is dedicated to aria as an apology for dragging her into captive prince hell with me <3  
> find me on tumblr at artesiankings!

The wonderful thing about he and Laurent not having to deal with imminent war and throne stealing relatives anymore, Damen thought, was being able to have time to really learn each other. For example, he’d only learnt two weeks ago that Laurent really, really disliked olives and even more disappointingly, would not even kiss Damen if he’d been eating them. That had been what he’d learnt about Laurent in their visit to Karthas. 

In their stay at Marlas, when they’d left the window open accidentally over-night, Damen had learnt that Laurent was ruthless when it came to sharing blankets. In Fortaine he’d learnt that Laurent had never been the recipient of flowers, so he’d spent the rest of their stay randomly surprising him with roses (Laurent had spent most of that stay trying to restrain his blushing). 

Now, they had entered Chastillon as their last stop before journeying on to Arles, where they would spend a few weeks soothing the council and court’s worries that the kingdom was about to fall apart, and Damen wondered what new thing he would learn about his lover here.

As they rode through the gates of the keep, Damen remembered the last time he’d done this with Laurent by his side. Back then he had thought Laurent the worst type of man, with a cold heart and a serpentine mind. Now, he’d come to love the serpentine mind but know that the hard exterior hid a loving heart, which he couldn’t imagine living without. 

Damen realised Laurent was staring back at him and hastily looked away before Laurent could start teasing him. 

Laurent smirked and said, “Please don’t make that face.” 

Damen flushed. “I don’t know what face you’re talking about.” 

“Alright,” said Laurent, and swung down from his horse. “I’ll describe it to you then. It’s the one you make when you’re thinking about something adorable that I did and you think I’m not looking.” 

“I have never described you as adorable,” Damen said as they ascended the steps into the main hall, “and I think if I did you would eviscerate me.” 

Laurent came to a stop in front of him, turned and reached up to pat his cheek. “You never had to say it out loud. As I said, you have a face for it.” 

It still amazed Damen that simple, affectionate touches like this could come from Laurent. He leaned his face into Laurent’s hand and smiled gently down at him.

Laurent rolled his eyes in mock frustration. “You’re doing the face right now you idiot.” He stepped away and Damen immediately felt the loss even though Laurent’s hand had been cold. 

“I have some business to discuss with the castellan which you’ll likely find excruciatingly boring, so can you keep yourself entertained for an hour or so?” Laurent said. 

“I suppose so,” Damen answered, taking Laurent’s hand in his, “although I will miss you terribly.” Knowing it would make Laurent blush, Damen raised his hand to his lips and kissed the back of it softly. 

He could almost see Laurent’s sinuous mind consider several bitchy comebacks and then discard them in favour of meeting Damen’s eyes and favouring him with a slight smile. It was a huge improvement from previous months, when any sign of loving affection from Damen still had Laurent shrinking back into his armoured shell. 

“I promise I’ll only be an hour,” Laurent said, “an hour and a half at most. And then we can discuss this ‘my lover is adorable’ face.” 

Damen grinned happily and dropped Laurent’s hand. “I’m holding you to that. I’ll be in our chambers.” 

***

An hour and half passed, and Laurent was still not back from his ‘business’ with the castellan, so Damen felt fully within his rights to investigate where Laurent had disappeared to.

He went to find Jord, who had volunteered to accompany them back to Arles. He’d given his reason as visiting family, although Damen suspected that he in truth wanted to get away from Nikandros, who would still stare Jord down any time he entered a room. 

Damen located Jord in the armoury, making an inventory of what weapons were left after Laurent’s troop had passed through all those months ago. 

Damen coughed to announce his presence, then said “I was wondering if you could help me find Laurent. He was supposed to come back to our chambers an hour and a half ago.”

Jord set down his list and hummed thoughtfully. “I’d think he’d be down in the kennels. He didn’t have much of a chance to see the dogs last time he was here,” he said, then added hastily, “Exalted.” 

Damen had to smile at the awkward use of the Akielon honorific. It seemed Jord was still trying to piece together in his mind the image of Damen the slave and Damianos, King of Akielos. In truth Damen was having a little difficulty himself. 

“Thank you. Where are the kennels located?” 

Jord gave him directions to the stables, then added, “And then just follow the barking.” 

With these instructions, Damen found the kennels quickly, although it might have been his eagerness to see Laurent that sped him up. It was laughable how lovestruck he was, he thought in embarrassment. 

The kennels were, as Jord had described, a mass of barking, excitable dogs. Damen almost couldn’t believe that he hadn’t noticed such a racket the last time he’d been at Chastillon, but he had supposed he had more pressing matters on his mind then. 

From sheer luck, Damen then found Laurent by spotting a blue sleeve poking out from one of the kennels. 

He entered the kennel, ducking a little due to his height, and saw Laurent sitting against the back wall, eyes closed, with a large dog’s head in his lap and six squirming puppies piled on and around his legs. 

Damen must have made some noise of adoration, as the puppies opened their eyes and immediately began a chorus of squeaking while attempting to climb Damen’s legs. 

Laurent too opened his eyes lazily and immediately began to laugh at the sight of Damen helplessly trying to fend off five puppies, while trying to dislodge the sixth who had managed to jump high enough to grab hold of his chiton. 

Damen glared at him. “Don’t just sit there and laugh, help me!” 

Laurent got up, still laughing, and said, “I apologise. It’s just that if I knew six puppies could defeat Damianos of Akielos so easily, I think Vere would have invaded Akielos a long time ago.” He clicked his finger and the large dog who had been resting on his lap got up and began rounding up her offspring. 

Damen sighed in relief as Laurent removed the last puppy from his chiton and held it gently to his chest. “You missed the hour and a half mark, by the way,” he said offhandedly.

Laurent looked up surprised, from where he’d been stroking one pale finger across the top of the puppy’s head. “Oh. I thought – it seemed as if I had more time than I realised.” 

Sitting down on the hay bale next to Laurent, Damen smiled at him. “It’s really alright. Aren’t you going to introduce me to these little devils?” The mother dog was now curled up next to Laurent’s feet with her five other children climbing over her body. 

Laurent raised an eyebrow at Damen. “You really want to hear about dogs, Damianos? I told you before, I think you’d find it boring.” 

Damen frowned slightly. “Of course I do. I want to hear about everything that you are interested in.” 

“If you must insist,” said Laurent, and reached down to pat the mother’s head. “Well, this is Maylis and she is two years old. Her breed is nearly extinct but Pierre the breeder here has been trying to keep her species going.” Laurent glanced up at Damen to see if he was still paying attention, and his cheeks coloured slightly when he saw Damen’s encouraging expression. “Pierre was very excited that Maylis had finally given birth and he wanted me to meet the puppies as soon as possible.” 

Damen reached out a hand to the puppy in Laurent’s arms with a questioning look, and Laurent deposited the puppy carefully into his hands. “Do they have names yet?” Damen asked. The puppy was small enough to fit in both of his large hands cupped together.

“Not yet.” Laurent said. “Pierre was wondering if I wanted to name them.” He looked shyly at Damen. “You can – I was thinking you might like to name one of them.” 

Damen held the wriggly puppy up to his face. It was a light, speckled grey with floppy ears, and it squeaked when he stroked a finger over its small head. “How about Aella? It means ‘whirlwind’, but she was also a famous Akielon warrior.” He looked at Laurent, seeking his approval. 

Laurent gave him a satisfied smile. “I like it. Although you better give Aella back to her mother before she starts getting jealous.” 

Damen duly placed Aella back with Maylis, who gave her a firm lick as if to re-establish her motherhood. He turned back to Laurent and said, “I think you just wanted me to put her down so I could have both hands free.” 

Laurent leaned in towards Damen until their lips brushed slightly, and Damen sucked in a breath. 

“You caught me,” Laurent murmured against Damen’s lips, then looked up at him through his golden lashes. 

Damen didn’t want to wait any longer. He put both hands around Laurent’s face, cupping it like he had the puppy, and drew him closer until he was near enough to kiss sweetly.  


Opening his lips, Laurent kissed him back soundly, and one of Damen’s hands slipped from his face to back in order to draw his body closer. Laurent’s body curved into Damen’s and Damen could feel his desire to push Laurent back onto the hay bale and put his hands to better use. 

At this, Damen drew back but left his hands on Laurent’s body. Laurent blinked at him slowly. “Why did you stop?”

Damen nodded down at Maylis and her puppies, who were still curled around Laurent’s feet. “As much as I would like to continue here, I’m not sure we should do this in front of the kids.” 

Laurent stared at him for a second, then collapsed forward onto Damen’s shoulder with laughter. Helplessly charmed, Damen kissed the side of Laurent’s golden head and felt warmth throughout him. Getting a loud laugh out of Laurent was sometimes a difficult task, but he thought he was getting better at it.

Finally, Laurent drew himself up to eye level with Damen. His eyes were still full of laughter, and Damen thought that he wanted to see that expression on Laurent for the rest of his life. 

“Alright,” Laurent conceded, “we won’t do this here. Besides, I believe I missed an appointment with a certain king in our bedchambers.” 

Damen took his hand as he stood up. “That’s right. And I hear the King of Akielos doesn’t take kindly to waiting.” He looked down at Laurent, whose hair was dappled with sunbeams, and placed one more kiss on his lips before they walked back to the keep through the late afternoon sunshine, hand in hand.


End file.
